The Tuscan's Revenge Wedding Read Free

mouth, its tucked corners and the soft natural
color of lips she must have wiped clean of lipstick with her luncheon napkin.
    Purest sensual interest stirred in his groin. It was
inappropriate beyond words, particularly the painful strength of it. He was
thankful for the distraction as she spoke again.
    “Your sister will live, won’t she?”
    “They cannot say. She is in critical condition, has a severe
concussion with resulting coma. Much depends on the next forty-eight hours.”
The words were abrupt because that was the only way he could force them from
his throat. Glancing at the flat watch on his wrist, he corrected himself. “Or
make that thirty-four hours now.”
    Compassion turned her eyes a darker gray. “I’m so sorry. I
know my brother must be devastated. That is, if he knows.”
    “ Davvero , indeed,” Nico answered, retreating
momentarily into formal Italian to cover his anger at the thought of her
brother’s useless concern. “It appears Carita was thrown from the automobile
when it left the road. The hillside sloped there, rather than being a sheer
drop to the sea. Your brother crawled back up to reach her, stayed with her
until emergency vehicles arrived.”
    “He would, of course,” she whispered with a small nod before
looking down at the glass in their clasped hands.
    “It would have been more to the point if he had not driven
off the road in the first place.”
    “Yes.”
    A warm tear splashed on his hand that still steadied the
brandy glass. She was crying without sound, the wetness sliding over her
cheekbones to drip into her lap.
    Nico felt something twist inside him at the sign of her
silent pain. What was this ache he felt in return, this compelling need, yet
again, to give her the comfort of his arms? Surely it was no more than his
ingrained habit of offering consolation and protection, though usually to women
of his family?
    She was not a family member. He must use other methods of
stemming the flow.
    “Your brother,” he said deliberately, “has been cited for
reckless driving. He will face more serious charges if Carita — that is, if my
sister fails to live.”
    “What?” Her tear-drenched eyes widened with a different kind
of shock. She shifted away from him on the sofa, removing her hands from his
grasp. Reaching out, she set the brandy glass on the side table with a sharp
click.
    “You would expect nothing else, surely.”
    “Jonathan may drive a little fast at times, but he isn’t
reckless! He learned to handle a car almost before he could walk, has been on
the racing circuit for years. He has excellent timing and reflexes.”
    “Skills that perhaps led to overconfidence.”
    “He would never endanger a passenger. I’ve ridden with him
many times. He’s far better than average at avoiding accidents.”
    Nico lifted a brow. “Yet he crashed, and my sister now
hovers between life and death.”
    The light from the window slid over her hair in silvery-gold
gleams as she shook her head. “Something must have gone wrong, wet weather or
another vehicle he swerved to miss.”
    “The police reported nothing of that nature.” The heat in
her gray eyes now was enough to dry a river of tears, Nico noted with
satisfaction.
    “I know my brother,” she insisted. “He is extremely careful
behind the wheel.”
    “You believe I would mislead you?”
    She looked away, gripping her hands together in her lap as
her face clouded.  “No, I just—”
    “ Bene . Let it pass. You will fly with me now to
Florence. We can be at the hospital in a matter of hours.”
    Her chin came up and wariness returned to her eyes. “There’s
no need for that. I’ll go to Jonathan as soon as possible, tomorrow at the
latest, but have things that must be done first.”
    “Time is of first importance,” he said with hard precision.
“It will be better to go at once.”
    “But I have a job, an apartment to be looked after.”
    “A leave of absence has been approved for you. An agency
that